From the fire's heat and hot, Seek ye diamonds midst the plot.

I’m a member of several writing groups, and I’m always amazed at the different reactions people have to similar situations. For instance, one writer might leave a critique session in tears, questioning whether or not the call to write was real. Another writer might have just as challenging a critique and leave energized because she now has the insight she needs to improve. Learn more.

In criminal court, ascertaining motive or intent is an integral part of the legal process and sets the tone for sentencing. The determination of a person’s motive can mean the difference between the death penalty, life in prison, a long sentence, a short sentence, and freedom. In the same way, the bad guy’s motive in a mystery or a suspense novel sets the tone for the story. It can determine the difference between a page-turner novel and a put down never-to-finish novel. A villain’s compelling motive makes the hero’s job all that more important and the whole story more believable and more suspenseful. The villain’s motive sets the emotional atmosphere, it raises the drama quotient and it sets the stage for a brilliant finish. Learn more. Learn more.

We all struggle with time management, but as social media steals away more and more of our minutes, our angst over lost time grows. Here at Books & Such, we’re always brainstorming how to get to the “real” work. Our days are frittered away reacting (to emails, phone calls, social media) rather than initiating action.

When we’re merely reacting, we’re not engaged in the most productive work we should be doing. For example, it can feel good to clean out your inbox by the end of the day, but in actuality, did you engage in your highest priorities? Probably not. Learn more.

After launching my social media and online book campaigns, I decided to reach out to local libraries and schools about shelving my indie book. When they responded asking for my press kit, I panicked. But after doing quite a bit of research, I found that a) I already had most of the materials and b) it’s pretty simple.

POV is the perspective from which you tell a story or anecdote and it applies to fiction and nonfiction. Some say it’s the single, most important choice you have to make. I wouldn’t go that far, but POV influences how readers perceive the story.

I stare out the living room window, my vision blurring and tears forming. I shuffle into the kitchen and peer out the back window. Perhaps the view from there would be different and change my situation.

The short answer to the above question we most often hear is this: Yes. Every book needs an editor. And while Joe gave us a nice set of tools for self-editing last week, I’d like to take a moment to answer this question on a more philosophical level.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook. And one day I floated the idea that not every writer and every book needs an editor.